A Peek Into The Future Long Distance Fleet

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UPDATE 2024-03-28: Rail Passenger Association CEO Jim Mathews added more details during his March 20 RailNation address:

  • Bids expected by August 2024. Decision sometime late 2024 or early 2025.
  • Biggest North American passenger railcar order since 1948.
  • At least 47 bi-level trainsets, with options for more.

ORIGINAL 2024-03-14:

More hints about Amtrak’s concept for their future Long Distance fleet: The technical specifications document for the 2023 Request For Proposals were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The document is essentially a snapshot of what Amtrak wants from manufacturers, not what it will finally get, nor what it is promising riders.The specifications discuss only bi-level, low-platform, long distance equipment to replace current Superliners used on services including the Empire Builder.

  • Semi-permanently married trainsets with replaceable components to keep cars in service. Minimum mean distance between service interruptions of 150,000 miles.
  • Network connectivity everywhere. On-board diagnostics. Remote monitoring. Surveillance cameras. In-bedroom control screens. Information displays. Cafe menu screens. Kitchen order screens. Kitchen temperature monitors. At-seat reservation/occupancy indicators. And, of course, at-seat outlets and en-route wi-fi.
  • Coach seats that are smaller, but nevertheless comfortable for up to 72 hours.
  • New Premium Coach: Wider seats in a 2×1 arrangement, leaving a wide, accessible aisle and possibly skylights.
  • Roomettes are updated, but little changed.
  • New SoloSuite: Roomette-sized, but just one extra-wide seat facing a work table. With a private skylight.
  • New: The classic Sightseer Lounge is replaced. Coach class gets an upstairs Cafe. First class get their own First Class Lounge.
  • Accessibility: Wheelchair and walker access between cars. 32-inch wide aisles. In-car elevators. Wider, easier stairways. On-board platform lifts and gap-fillers. Three different types of accessible bedrooms, all with private bathrooms. Accessible places in the cafe, lounge, and diner.
  • New: Club Bedroom increases the capacity of the classic Bedroom. Sleeps four, includes a private bathroom.
  • New: Premium Bedroom replaces the Family Bedroom. Sleeps only two, but in a full-car-width compartment with a queen-sized bed and private bathroom.

Reminder: This is Amtrak’s shopping list for manufacturers. It doesn’t mean Amtrak will get everything it wants in the final affordable design.

The new bi-level long distance procurement will be a lengthy process. In 2022, Amtrak wrote:

“Significant customer and marketplace research is necessary for this once-in-a-generation procurement.”

“Amtrak anticipates that the first new long-distance railcars will arrive towards the end of the current decade, with deliveries continuing into the early 2030s.”

FY 2022-2027 Service and Asset Line Plans, page 129

FOIA Note: The use of the FOIA process means that the technical specifications document is now public. While many pages are labelled “confidential,” that label is no longer accurate. Amtrak had the opportunity to redact confidential information before release.